View from the Summit FROM THE PUBLISHER
Adventurers the world over have been inspired by the achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man ever to set foot on the summit of Mount Everest. In this candid, wry, and vastly entertaining autobiography, Hillary looks back on that 1953 landmark expedition, as well as his remarkable explorations in other exotic locales, from the South Pole to the Ganges. View From The Summit is the compelling life story of a New Zealand country boy who daydreamed of wild adventures; the pioneering climber who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth after scaling the world's tallest peak; and the elder statesman and unlikely diplomat whose groundbreaking program of aid to Nepal continues to this day, paying his debt of worldwide fame to the Himalayan region.
More than four decades after Hillary looked down from Everest's 29,000 feet, his impact is still felt -- in our fascination with the perils and triumphs of mountain climbing, and in today's phenomenon of extreme sports. The call to adventure is alive and real on every page of this gripping memoir.
FROM THE CRITICS
KLIATT
The author earned his fame and knighthood for being the first man to ever set foot on the summit of Mount Everest. His account of that historic climb is dramatic (and generous to his fellow summitter, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay), yet wryly understated. Not one to rest on his laurels, Hillary led groundbreaking expeditions to the South Pole and to the source of India's holy and mighty river, the Ganges. He also served for a time as New Zealand's ambassador to India. Hillary is most renowned for his Everest feat, but his greatest legacy may be the Himalayan Trust, a foundation he established that over the past 30 years has constructed schools and clinics and rebuilt monasteries and bridges in Nepal. In short, the author is an icon in the mountaineering world, a humble philanthropist, and a man who has suffered much personal loss. All is humbly and frankly told in his compelling autobiography, which belongs in all adventure collections. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1999, Pocket Books, 310p, illus, maps, index, 24cm, $14.95. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Randy M. Brough; Lib. Dir., Franklin P.L., Franklin, NH, November 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 6)
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